en عمومى General پژوهشي Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style="line-height:2;"><b>Purpose</b>: The present study evaluated the combined effects of motor imagery practice (MIP) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on static and dynamic balance in athletes with chronic ankle instability (CAI).<br> <strong>Methods: <span style="font-weight:normal">A randomized, double-blind design was used. Fourteen athletes (mean age, 24.5 &plusmn; 2.62 years; 7 females) were randomly assigned to either a motor imagery-anodal tDCS group (MI-AtDCS) or a motor imagery-sham tDCS group (MI-StDCS).</span></strong><strong> </strong>Participants completed a guided imagery procedure with an online tDCS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). <strong><span style="font-weight:normal">The static and dynamic balance were assessed pre-and post-intervention using the Biodex Balance System, which measured medial-lateral, anterior-posterior, and overall stability control.</span></strong> <b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></b><br> <b>Results</b>: The MI-AtDCS group demonstrated significant improvements in static and dynamic balance metrics (p < 0.05), while the significant changes were not seen in the MI-tDCS group.<br> <b>Conclusion</b>: <strong><span style="font-weight:normal">These results suggest that combining MIP with tDCS enhances motor control and balance, potentially through increased neural excitability induced by tDCS.</span></strong><b> </b>This study provides preliminary evidence that MIP integrated with tDCS may augment rehabilitation protocols, improving postural control and mitigating injury risk in athletes with CAI.</span></span></span></div> Balance, Chronic Ankle Instability, Motor Imagery Practice, Postural Control, tDCS 0 0 http://ptj.uswr.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-671-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Yousef Moghadas Tabrizi moghadas@ut.ac.ir No Department of Sport Injuries and Corrective Exercise, Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Meysam Yavari Kateb Meysam.Yavari.Kateb@gmail.com Yes Department of Behavioral and cognitive sciences, Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Zahra Rezaei z.rezaei228@ut.ac.ir No Department of Sport Injuries and Corrective Exercise, Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.